Ice cover on Great Lakes climbs rapidly: See how close we are to record

The latest arctic outbreak, with morning low temperatures at record cold levels, has caused the Great Lakes to rapidly ice back up.

The overall entire Great Lakes system is rated at 90 percent iced over, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory(GLERL). This is the highest percentage of total ice cover this year, and increasing rapidly. GLERL has been using the same method to rank ice cover percentage since 1973. The highest ice total on the entire Great Lakes was 94.8 percent in 1994.

Lake Superior is now 95 percent covered with ice. That is up from 78 percent one week ago. The satellite image is fascinating and shows a whole lot of ice. Lake Superior has been frozen over 100 percent one time since 1973, back in 1996.

Lake Michigan's ice cover has made the most dramatic increase in the last seven days. The ice cover percentage has grown from 30 percent last week to 90 percent March 2, 2014. This 90 percent ice cover is the highest so far this season, and the highest amount of ice cover since 1994. The record since 1973 is 93.1 percent, back in 1977.

Lake Huron is also flirting with being entirely frozen over. Right now Lake Huron is listed with 95 percent covered with ice. It has been that way for the last five days. This is the most ice since 2003, and the record level since 1973 is 98.5 percent.

Lake Erie is also virtually frozen over, with 95 percent of it covered in ice. Lake Erie has been 100 percent covered in ice three times: 1978, 1979, and 1996.

Lake Ontario has finally started to have ice grow on the surface. It is now rated as 45 percent covered in ice. This is the most ice on Lake Ontario since 2003. The highest ice total on Lake Ontario is 86.2 percent in 1979. There are even reports of parts of the Niagara Falls freezing. Lake Ontario is the slowest to ice up because it is deep without much surface area for heat to escape.

Will ice continue to grow?

The next three days look very cold across the entire Great Lakes, so ice should continue to grow. Some areas of the southern Great Lakes could warm to between 32 and 36 degrees on Friday. After Friday, temperatures will generally be below normal, but at times warm into the 30s.

So I think the Great Lakes may reach peak ice this Thursday or Friday. We only have 4.9 percent to go to reach record ice levels.

We've come this far. We might as well have a record. That way we can say we remember when...

If you have more historical accounts of ice on the Great Lakes, please share them below.